Hera
|- | |} Hera (Juno) is one of the Ancient Goddesses of the Greco-Roman era. She was known as the QUEEN OF THE GODS '''and to have a jealous streak within her. Hera refused to give up her worshippers until Zeus and her children forced her too. Her favorite city is Argos and loves to make things difficult for Zeus by spoiling his plans the best she can. ''Symbols/Attributes: Sign of Hera''''' Appearance Hera is usually depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a crown and veil and holding a royal, lotus-tipped staff. History Hera spent her childhood in her Titan father Kronos' stomach after she was born to Rhea, her Titan mother. Zeus, the youngest child, rescued her and her siblings by making Kronos throw them up. After the First Titanomachy) ended, she married him and became the Queen of the Gods. After accepting Zeus, Gaea gave Hera the golden apples of immortality as a wedding gift, which she placed in her garden at the western edge of the world. Hera employed the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas, to guard the tree, but as the nymphs would occasionally pluck an apple from the tree themselves, she also put a one hundred headed dragon named Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named The Garden of the Hesperides. Over time, Zeus was very unfaithful to her, and had many children with mortal women such as Jason Grace, Thalia Grace, and Hercules. This, understandably, frustrated Hera to no end, and she devoted most of her time to keeping Zeus in sight, as well as making the lives of the mistresses and illegitimate children miserable. Her hatred is most evident in the story of Hercules, whom she tried to kill repetitively, and who, after his deification, later ended up as her son-in-law by her daughter Hebe. Hera gave birth to Hephaestus, god of blacksmith, fire and the forge without the aid of any man, but when she saw his unsightly appearance, she threw him from Olympus, crippling him forever. This act of cruelty haunted Hephaestus, and was a factor in his bitterness with life and the fact that he preferred to work away from his family in his many forges in active volcanoes. Other versions of the story say that Zeus was the one who cast him off Olympus, but Hephaestus himself seems to believe that Hera only blames him to "make her seem more likable." Later in life, Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical throne which, when she sat on it, did not allow her to leave. The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he repeatedly refused their pleas until Dionysus the god of wine and another son of Zeus, got him drunk and took him back to Olympus on the back of a mule. Hephaestus released Hera after being given Aphrodite, goddess of love, as his wife. When Eris, goddess of strife, threw the Apple of Discord into the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, bearing the inscription "for the fairest," Hera was one of the candidates to claim it. Paris, prince of Troy, was chosen to judge between the three most beautiful goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Hera offered Paris a reward if he chose her as the fairest, willing to give him rule over Europe and Asia. She lost however, to Aphrodite, because of the bribe the goddess of love had offered Paris (the love of the most beautiful woman in Greece, Helen). Hera engaged along with Athena on the Greek's side in the Trojan War in revenge against Paris for rejecting them to be the fairest. Gallery herapainting.jpg herastatue.jpg Category:Gods Category:Greek_Roman